Former NBA big man and current Space City Home Network color commentator for the Houston Rockets, Ryan Hollins, sat down for an exclusive chat to break down the highly anticipated season ahead. Having played ten seasons in the league, Hollins brings a veteran’s insight and an insider’s view to the organization’s deliberate and “surreal” rebuilding process.
He emphasizes that the Rockets’ success is predicated on building a winning culture from the ground up, a strategy he views as essential for sustainable success in the modern NBA. Much of that foundational shift is credited to Coach Ime Udoka, whose greatest strength, according to Hollins, lies in maximizing every asset he has, making him a truly all-around effective coach. This player-first approach has fostered the unique talents of Alperen Şengün, whom Hollins likens to a potent blend of Nikola Jokić and Marc Gasol.
The conversation also delved into the crucial role of veteran presences, from the reliable Clint Capela to the highly sought-after, versatile defender Dorian Finney-Smith. Finally, Hollins offered profound observations on the mentorship dynamic between Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr., framing it as one of the most critical elements for the team’s long-term future.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: How excited are you for this coming season?
Ryan Hollins: But it’s almost surreal, honestly, just because we watched years of development and you saw everything being built. And I think that’s the true way to win in the NBA right now. Either you got homegrown and you happen to get a guy, you get fortunate. But I think the biggest thing is that you build a winning culture and then you got something that people wnt to actually be a part of.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Ime Udoka’s public perception has shifted from purely defensive to an all-around good coach. What is one thing the national audience misses when talking about him?
Ryan Hollins: I don’t think there’s a weakness, and I think for me that you definition of coach is am I maximizing what I have and you guys have career highs in career years under him. So, you know, Dylan Brooks shoots big numbers from three, Aaron Holiday shot career numbers from three, Şengün got better defensively, and normally young players get better, but that’s not always a guarantee. So, when you’re seeing guys excel, that changes everything because now the front office now has a bigger asset to work with, you win, and you know, it’s an overall experience, you know. and I think for Ime, I think is, I don’t know if we call it player development or the way he uses assets, you know like, you some coaches, with all due respect, they can only coach a certain style. You know, maybe they’re run and gun posts, you know, he needs to 3-point shooters. This coach needs tough guys. He needs this like, you know, like, Ime could win or adjust to whatever he has because you can even argue, you know, Alperen Şengün in going maybe wouldn’t have been his type of center. And, you know, Şengün the shots that he takes, like he short rolls, for instance, and a short rolls kind of frowned upon either one of you to shoot threes. Well, they want you to get to the rim and he may was like, no, that’s what he does. Well, that’s what we gonna do, you know, so I think this is the ability to bring the most out of what he has.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Who does Alperen Şengün remind you of?
Ryan Hollins: I think he’s a mix between Jokić and Marc Gasol. Obviously, you can see the, you know, the Jokić with the passing, but height wise, he’s probably closer to Marc. And I think a lot of people forget how good, really good Marc Gasol was, and I had to go against him in the playoffs and whatnot, so I know. But he’s got wiggle that’s unique for a European big man. Like, he, he got wiggle like he’s, like, grew up playing in the States, and if, you watch him, he has a different type of flair. But for me, and I’ll give you another name that you want in the Luis Scola. Scola would get you in that short roll, throw the little swoop shots, you know, extremely efficient with what he does. You know, wouldn’t jump off the ground too far if he didn’t need to. So I think a little bit of that and a guy who would put the ball on the deck, you know?
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: How did Clint Capela’s time in Atlanta prepare him for his return to the Rockets?
Ryan Hollins: I think you appreciate it more. And you look around and you know, you want the last Mohicans there and I think that also, you know has nothing to do with Clint but the way the NBA is trended. We’re gonna look back at Clint Capella’s role and just say he was one of the greatest to ever do what he does. Like, you know what I’m saying? Like a team guy, a guy who did his job. You can rely upon, you know, in the 90s, you looked at the 2000s, Horace Grant, you know, guys like that, you knew what Horace was going to bring to the table, Robert Horry, you know whatever organization he was on, and I think Clint has that real ability where you look back and you’re like, man, I need a Clint Capella, like he’s a name that you can fashion after that role.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Dorian Finney-Smith has played with Luka and LeBron and is now with Kevin Durant in Houston. How will his role in Houston be different than his previous roles with superstar teammates?
Ryan Hollins: There’s gonna be more of an equal opportunity offense. And you could argue when you have such great players and I’ve done it, I’ve played with Dirks and Garnetts and Chris Pauls, it’s hard to play with stars sometimes. And I think in Houston, what Ime has built is, if you’re open, you shoot the ball, you got a post-up or you have a player, you go make the play and it’s predicated upon defense rather than being predicated upon your stars. And one thing he really urged was his Stars to play defense. And now everybody gets to eat, you know? So from my opinion, that’s where Finney Smith is going to be able to flourish a bit, because he’s going, man, everybody’s playing like me? You know, when you play with the Star, more commonly, you’re going to guard your guy, and you’re gonna guard his guy. You know? You’re there to clean up, and he’s. One of the league’s best we have at doing that and complimenting those guys. That’s why he’s so highly sought after. So I think he’s going to have much more of an opportunity to blend in because we have a lot of guys that uniquely match what he does. And it’s not just, hey, compliment the star, if that makes sense. And he brings the versatility that. You know, he may really loves and you know he’s he’s a heck of a player so I think there’s even more that he can bring to the table and again he fits in you know for Ime he wants to be as switchable as possible and get as many on the roster who can do what he does so make you know in our multiple positions so I think that he is going to be a pleasant surprise for him.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Jeff Green and Kevin Durant grew up together. What have you observed about their connection as teammates now?
Ryan Hollins: These guys are friends and it’s not just for show and I’ve seen sometimes in the NBA they say they say that guys are friends and buddies and they don’t know each other they don’t hang out, they don’t connect with each other. But there is a familiarity there between those two, that’s on and off the court. And I think it’s even more when you kind of circle the block at the NBA and those two have, and then you get to connect again. And I, and I think is huge. And for Kevin, man, more so Jeff’s used to playing for different teams. But now Kevin steps in with a familiar face and I think that helps him be even more comfortable him here in Houston rather than guessing rather than trying to figure things out. He has a guy who he can rely on in the locker room to make him more comfortable because that’s big too man you got a different coach different system you know new teammates even though he’s comfortable with these guys that’s hard man and you win championships based on chemistry and familiarity you know and a lot of times you know you You work hard to manufacture overnight, but it’s nice to have that already built in.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: I compare Kevin Durant’s potential shift to the power forward spot to how Paul Pierce was used late in his career. How do you view Durant’s role—is he a traditional four, a hybrid forward, or something else entirely—in Ime Udoka’s system?
Ryan Hollins: For Paul, Paul was 6’8, he was always a matchup nightmare. And you knew with the lineup in Boston KG at the five. And Paul at the four, but you wanted to save those guys’ legs by playing them smaller, you know, you get bigger and they don’t have the same tax by having to rebound. And intriguingly, we’re almost going backwards. So KDs our two. Last night, Steven Adam started and KD was the two. Now obviously, the NBA so much more positionless. But, you know, I haven’t spoken to him. I’m sure the savant, the basketball savant that KD is. He was able to look at the Houston Rockets and say, yeah, Those young guys can compliment what I do. And I think as much as Houston needed KD, KD needed Houston. And not that he does, but as competitive as he is, if it’s where he looks at, says, this can fit, this would help out what I do, I think it’s a group that fits him. So he actually gets the downsize. And for him, he’s unique to a group that we have, he is going to be able to play some zone. Obviously without Fred VanVleet, but the mindset was, you know, less is more for me and now I can fit in. So I think for Durant, we give him a space where he doesn’t have to go to four or five and he can literally play two and you know make no mistake. There may be lineups on the floor where he is a four or five, but that’s something that you, uh, you can change. And you know what we talked about earlier, Scoop, the way that the NBA is played is much different now.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Jabari Smith is a seven-footer at power forward and a second-generation NBA player. How beneficial is his background to his career now?
Ryan Hollins: I spoke with his pops yesterday. But he can look back in his career and said, man, if I had this training and this tutelage and this, this is, you know, I would have been this. And I think he’s giving it to his son and saying, like, you’re gonna know how to shoot the ball and he can shoot the skin off the basketball, man. You see this kid in practice, so I believe that’s everything. And then Jabari steps into a similar role, feeling not just I might make it to the NBA, this my destiny, this what I’m gonna do. This is a familiar place for me. So, man, his father means so much. And I’m telling you, man. Jamar Smith Sr., he don’t sugarcoat it with his son, either, you know? So ain’t walking around talking about how great his son is. He talking about he needs to, you know, he needs do work, you know, He needs to be better, better, you know? So I think that from that standpoint, that’s it. And then you’re telling him what he needs to know, and I think that’s what makes that that’s extremely special.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: What have been your observations of the dynamic between Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr., given they are both key forwards in Udoka’s system?
Ryan Hollins: The connection that they have, Jabari is smart enough to shout out to his father where he gets to look at KD and he looked even before he became A Rocket and saw the mountain and said, you know, teach me, I want to learn from you. I want it. I want I want understand how to get my shot off. You know, what’s your work ethic like? You know he’s a kid that’s hungry for the game. And when you have a player that is similar to you… That changes everything. So for instance, I was an athletic big, you know, tall athletic can move my feet. Kevin Garnett was my greatest coach. Okay, so now you look at that and Jabari Smith Jr., his greatest coach is gonna be Kevin Durant. We’re watching him and you can see the confidence that KDs instilled in him already about shots that he should take, his aggressiveness, his whole body language. So everything is different and it’s someone teaching that position where. Ime not gonna be able to teach it to him. You know, Fred VanVleet wouldn’t have words for him. You know shoot, even his own father. And there’s things, there’s levels to this. And, you know, the little business he’s picking up, picking up from Kevin Durant, I think he’s gonna be the surprise of the season that people are overlooking that they’re gonna have to see and go, man, we didn’t see this coming. And man, it was even a shocker. I mean, I think we were all sad. I think the consensus, everybody was feeling like. You’re gonna lose Jabari in that train. There’s no way the Suns were gonna let you keep that seven footer and it was kind of like the replacement like well you take big KD and we will take younger KD and somehow Rafael Stone was able to keep them both.
Ryan Hollins: And how he did is much above my pay grade but somehow he did and I think a lot of people had looked at how important that was to keep him on the roster.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: The consensus is that Amen Thompson will be the surprise of the season. Given that everyone is talking about him, what are you realistically expecting from him this season?
Ryan Hollins: I think for Amen Thompson, he’s obviously going to grow with Fred and Green out with the ball in his hands more, but I don’t think you understand like, it’s not a sexy game from him. You know, when you look at Amen, you see the flash, but that kid is so disciplined and we’re so used to, you know, the young stars, the, you the young Kobe Bryant, the young Kevin Garnett, the young LeBron James and those guys, young Tim Duncan. Amen Thompson is as blue collar as it gets. He’s doing his job and being a star in his role. And he’s so much a star in his world that he’s just expanding. So it’s not, he’s not your typical player that you would be used to. And he just like, he makes plays. He goes after the ball. He hustles. He’s, he is intelligent. Like he, like he is a, how do I put it? He’s like, he’s such a detailed guy. Like he’s so critical of himself and the guy needs to make mistakes. So I think he’s just unique and he’s a coach’s dream where you know, you mentioned some of those other guys that come in kind of ready made products, you put them out there, you just let them go. He’s like, you know what, what do I need to do to be successful? What I need do? And I’ll do this, this, and this. And literally he’s played from point guard to center. He’s played for point guard, to center with our group last season and excelled and being comfortable when you’re uncomfortable. Is, I believe, the Amen’s biggest strength. So he’s a unique star. You got to know the game to really appreciate what he does. Anybody can appreciate the athleticism, the way he flies. He’s the best athlete in the NBA right now. You can quote that. Amen Thompson’s the the best athlete in the NBA. But the things that he does, the attention to detail, how committed he is to the winning aspects, the little things in the game, he’s unbelievable. That may not excite everybody as much as it should.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: How disappointed were you with Fred VanVleet’s injury, and what do you expect to see from him as a mentor and leader on the bench while he is out?
Ryan Hollins: We saw it a little bit, Fred had a spell and he was out. He coached our guys up, he talked to them, he’s in their ear, you know, it seems like whether he’s in the game or not he does, Freds just got that presence around him, you know, he glows if he chooses to be a head coach in this league when he’s finished that that path is going to be there, there’s no question. It hurt bad that one stung because I knew how much work that Fred had put in, I knew his commitment to the organization. I knew that these were long-term plans, you know he bleeds Rocket’s red, and again, this, what we’re doing now, it doesn’t happen without him and how amazing the guy Fred is, man, he’s first class. So it was crushing. And, you know, from a selfishly from winning standpoint, you don’t have anybody that can do what he does, you know, that adds a question mark where you not that you want to lose anybody, but you say, Okay, let’s say we lose this guy, you can pivot around and, you maybe Amen Thompson just puts up the minutes there. And that’s what he did a lot in the last season. And you know, that’s the position we, I don’t want to say we can’t replace, but we can just magnify other minutes to bring with Fred brings to the table. For those who don’t know, Amen Thompson is not KD, or he’s not those other guys. You know, how do the Ravens look without Lamar Jackson? You know how do these guys look, the 49ers, you know like win a game or two without Brock Purdy, but they’re gonna, you lose that quarterback, that’s a lot. So obviously what you do when you lose your quarterback, you pivot to other things that you can bring to the table. You defend, you run the ball a little more, and that’s the things that Ime can do and you’re gonna have to see, but it is tough not to have. Where it’s gonna hurt is when you have to adjust and it’s going to be longer for him to adjust. When it’s the fourth quarter and you got to execute, it’s gotta be harder to execute. When it comes down to toughness. Uh and a guy ready to show up in these big ones that’s going to be hard to find also so um you know it’s a work of progress all is not lost but uh and my heart goes out from every aspect uh for Fred not being there.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: With Fred VanVleet out, what do you expect from point guards Reed Shepherd and Aaron Holiday as they fill out the rotation?
Ryan Hollins: Man, there’s going to be opportunities. And we don’t want to hear it right now, to be honest. We don’t to hear, but sometimes those are blessings in disguise. Because those guys aren’t going to get better with that opportunity. They’re going to work, but for them to get better, opportunity has to be there. And there’s a reason that Fred was taken number three. And there is a reason the Aarons on this roster, you see the way those guys work and what they bring to the table. So I’m definitely. Excited for those guys as much as it sucks. You know Aaron was a guy there’s a consensus about organization he should have played more he should have more opportunity But you know it was tough to squeeze him in with how much Fred meant to this group and really what he brought to the table. So, you know ultimately at the end of day it is a huge loss, it a tough loss, Is it something that you can’t repair? But you get a chance for those guys to step in and play well. You know, I think, hey man, Darren Collison, that’s my little brother right there. When Chris Paul went down, you got to see that Darren Collison, you know, was a heck of a player. Sometimes, you know you have those injuries that work out. Was it Maxey over in Philadelphia? So you don’t know these guys are special until they get special opportunities. And this is one for those two.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: With Russell Westbrook signing with Sacramento, I have to ask: did you ever buy into the notion of a KD and Russell Westbrook reunion in Houston?
Ryan Hollins: Man, I think everybody’s calling for Russ. There’s no question, but I don’t think Houston was able to do anything until December. And I, as we see it, we’re not shocked. He wouldn’t have been around. So, uh, Russell’s an unbelievable talent, man. He’s a winner. And, uh I’ll even say this, man, I felt like last season for Russ, it was maybe not one of the bigger statistical ones, but he played some good basketball, man like he played some winning basketball that has me shocked that he was on the board this long and I thought he really excelled man he made he made some plays there man he was really really good in Denver so I’m excited for Russ right now would have been it you know really cool and fun to see him with a full reuniting the last three Sonics left you know would have been on the same team and that would have be a cool undertone of the season But I’m happy for a man, and I’ve seen Russ work since he was young, man. Since he was younger, UCLA had come up and nobody believed in him. And I love that his mentality is still the same, he is who he is. Love him or hate him, Russ is gonna be Russ is going to be Russ. Cuz y’all been there when he was in the gym working, and doing the little things to get himself to the place to where he can be who he is, so he excited for Russell Westbrook, man, you know, hey. You never know what the NBA might have to offer, you never know how things change. So, but I’m ecstatic for him and I thought Kevin said it best. He’s good enough where he deserves to go out on his own terms. And he’s earned that rank. So hats off to the Sacramento Kings and the folks for making that move.
Conclusion: The Blueprint for Houston’s Future
The depth of the Houston Rockets’ commitment to sustainable success, as detailed by Ryan Hollins, is truly the dominant takeaway from our conversation. The foundation laid by Ime Udoka, focusing not just on defense but on extracting career-best production from his entire roster, validates the organization’s long-term vision. This effective strategy has allowed unique talents like Alperen Şengün to flourish, benefiting greatly from a coaching approach that molds the system to fit the player’s strengths. We also discussed the invaluable stability provided by veterans, noting how guys like Clint Capela and Jeff Green bring championship familiarity and reliable production to the bench.
Furthermore, the budding relationship between Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. is viewed as a season-defining mentorship, positioning the young forward to be the team’s pleasant surprise this year. Hollins offered high praise for Amen Thompson’s disciplined, blue-collar approach, calling him arguably the best athlete in the NBA due to his dedication to the little things. While Fred VanVleet’s injury certainly hurts, it creates a “blessing in disguise” for young guards like Aaron Holiday and Reed Shepherd to step up and prove their worth. Ultimately, Hollins makes it clear that the Rockets are building a formidable, resilient contender defined by its collective chemistry and detailed commitment to winning.
